"Why didn't you design Facebook from the beginning to honor requests by users to have files deleted instead of just hiding the files someplace and pretending that they'd been deleted?"
"Mr. Senator, we are all about connecting people. In order to better connect people we need to better understand them. Sometimes, people inadvertently delete things that would help us to better understand them, and better connect them well. So it's better for them if we save stuff that they think they should delete."
This film is equal amounts of FUD and fearmongering.
Asking me, Do You Trust This Computer?, is like asking me if I trust a camper van or a gun.
In the wrong hands, a camper van or a gun can both be deadly.
I trust a computer, a camper van or a gun. What I don't trust is humans.
That is what we should be concerned about. AI is not something in itself that is dangerous. It's AI in the hands of a Über-Zuckerberg that is dangerous.
Well . . . people can be greedy, too . . . not just organizations.
I got into programming because I like to do it . . . not because I expected to make a lot of money doing it. I started in high school back in the 70's . . . with Fortran on punch cards.
I find that people who get into IT for the money will be frustrated, because they are not getting rich fast.
I'm not rich, but I'm not poor either. But enjoying my work is most important to me.
I hope it's okay with you if I don't worry about this now.
How long have we known about the inferred effects of Dark Energy and Dark Matter . . . ? Less that 10**2 years . . . ?
I think it is a wee bit too early in our relationship to be making any long term commitments to the universe.
Maybe Dark Matter and Dark Energy will suddenly start becoming more Dark. That would majorly foobar these physicists' predictions.
Maybe the upcoming Webb space telescope will surprisingly spot evidence of the existence of Clear Energy and Clear Matter . . . which we won't be able to see either.
My prediction is that in less than 10**1 years . . . the physics equations will need to be dramatically modified again.
Don't kid yourselves, the baddest motherfuckers in the world of computers are employed by governments.
. . . when "The Pros" hack into a system . . . they don't tell anyone about it.
. . . when "The Schmoes" hack into a system . ..they brag about it on Facebook.
One of the oldest rules in the book is that you never let your enemy know that you have compromised them. That way, they will continue to expose valuable information that you can exploit.
If you leave behind an email stating, "You've been hacked!" . . . that's game over for that exploit.
There used to be an ancient joke that "spooky folks" would pass around, that went something like:
"Did you hear the story of the greatest spy coup of all time . . . ?"
I'm guessing that some folks who thought they could get rich easy with a Fart App have thrown in the towel.
More useful would be some statistics on how many highly popular app there are . . . and how many obvious duds.
Of course, any statistics are useless when you really need an app for something . . . but can't find it.
Well, my solution to that is to write it myself. It's really not that difficult. I've written apps for both iOS and Android, and it takes some learning time, but I find that it is fun.
. ..not really . . . as long as Kevin Bacon is still using Facebook, they are merely six degrees away from you.
For folks who signed up and use Facebook, well, they gave their data away.
But for folks who won't touch Facebook with your dick, but Facebook collects data on them anyway, because they are "real friends" with a Facebook user . . . that is quite nasty.
If your name and telephone number is on the phone of a WhatsApp user . . . they've got you.
. . . and folks packed their bags wherever they were, and took the next flight to Canada!
Unfortunately, the Brexit campaign was abused by xenophobic folks in the UK to stoke up "foreigners are evil!" elements there. And it worked. Some foreign IT folks that I work with in the UK have told me that they feel like they have hunting targets pinned on their clothes when they go out shopping.
Xenophobia is the new wave in Europe, but the French nipped the racist "National Front" in the bud with the election of Macron. In Germany, the racist AfD got into parliament, but their political influence has been dampened.
In the UK . . . well, a majority voted for Brexit . . . how many did so on anti-foreigner sentiments . . . nobody will talk about.
But, if you are a true believer in democracy . . . it should be right of UK voters to decide to kick out foreigners . . . correct . . . ?
Damn kids, get back on my lawn so I can kick you off
There's no need to kick them off . . . just leave an extra sharpened set of Lawn Darts laying around on your lawn.
The problem will take care of itself.
That said, on my last business trip to the US, just north of Round Rock, Texas . . . I was surprised that no children were outside playing when I visited some colleagues at home. They all told me to be careful driving at dusk, because there would be deer in the road.
Where I grew up, in scenic New Jersey, at dusk there would be kids in the road.
While driving, if I see a ball run into the road, I brake, because I expect to see some kids run into the street chasing it.
While driving in the Third World, if I see a chicken run into the road, I brake, because I expect to see some kids run into the street chasing it.
Folks in the Third World love their chickens, but they love their children even more.
But why don't children seem to go out of the house, to find some trouble to get themselves into . . . ?
The shhoter was a whack job, but had YouTube not "demonetized" her content,
YouTube decided that her content was worthless . . . why should they continue to give her any more money for it? She could have taken her content to anyone who thought that it was worth any money.
she would have probably lived out her life in well deserved obscurity.
I doubt it. She was a ticking time bomb, and if it wasn't YouTube, something else later would have set her off.
She needed serious mental health care. But mental heath still has this heavy stigma in the US . . . pumping your children full with Ritalin is OK . . . committing your daughter to a mental health institution is not socially acceptable.
Calling the cops is no answer . . . they are not able to legally do anything, and are not trained mental health professionals.
Ideally, this woman would have been evaluated as to her threat to herself and others, and would have received treatment.
This sounds like extreme stalking to me . . . where folks in disillusion convince themselves that they are the "true love" of some Hollywood celebrity.
The YouTube film producers are no different from other artists . . . you create a painting . . . hang it in a gallery . . . and then someone buys it . . . or they don't.
and I think there is actually a good argument that they should get some employment rights and protections.
Did YouTube ever insinuate that they would have a job for life with YouTube? No, they are just like any other contractors . . . you make big bucks when you are needed . . . but have no long term commitments.
The gig economy was largely about screwing works out of job security and benefits, and it has taken the law time to catch up and give people like Uber drivers some of the rights they deserve as effective employees.
A lot of folks like doing contract work . . . if you are young and single, and understand the risks and can financially plan for them . . . it can be a great deal.
If you are married, with two kids to feed and a house to finance . . . well, maybe a steady job is better for you.
But at any rate, contributors to YouTube who think that they have a lifetime employment commitment at YouTube are idiots.
If I'm a C-level executive and play fast/loose with the law, I can steal millions of dollars; from hundreds or thousands of people -- and unless I embarrass the establishment (like Madoff), I might get probation, or a few years of parole/supervised release.
Don't aim your sights too low! If you do it right . . . you will get a government bailout!
The C-Level folks at CenturyLink have already stashed their cash in the Cayman Islands. And they have their bags packed, in case any Feds do eventually come looking for them.
The trick about running a scam, is to know when to cut loose and bail out. That was Madoff's mistake . . . he got too greedy, and stayed around too long.
Slashdot Mirror
"Why didn't you design Facebook from the beginning to honor requests by users to have files deleted instead of just hiding the files someplace and pretending that they'd been deleted?"
"Mr. Senator, we are all about connecting people. In order to better connect people we need to better understand them. Sometimes, people inadvertently delete things that would help us to better understand them, and better connect them well. So it's better for them if we save stuff that they think they should delete."
Slashdot folks like to think that we are the best IT / Security / Privacy experts in the world.
What would you ask Mark Zuckerberg in the Congress hearings . . . ?
I miss the old Microsoft (around 2009 - 2011, Windows 7 times).
The Coca-Cola company tried to roll out "New Coke".
But the taste failed, and Coca-Cola returned to "Coke Classic".
Maybe Microsoft will get their users' message, and roll out "Windows 7 Classic" . . . ?
How can you do this after what just happened?
Nothing will happen to the passengers in the cars . . .
. . . it's the pedestrians that will have the problems.
This film is equal amounts of FUD and fearmongering.
Asking me, Do You Trust This Computer?, is like asking me if I trust a camper van or a gun.
In the wrong hands, a camper van or a gun can both be deadly.
I trust a computer, a camper van or a gun. What I don't trust is humans.
That is what we should be concerned about. AI is not something in itself that is dangerous. It's AI in the hands of a Über-Zuckerberg that is dangerous.
Well . . . people can be greedy, too . . . not just organizations.
I got into programming because I like to do it . . . not because I expected to make a lot of money doing it. I started in high school back in the 70's . . . with Fortran on punch cards.
I find that people who get into IT for the money will be frustrated, because they are not getting rich fast.
I'm not rich, but I'm not poor either. But enjoying my work is most important to me.
"... between 10**88 and 10**241 years..."
I hope it's okay with you if I don't worry about this now.
How long have we known about the inferred effects of Dark Energy and Dark Matter . . . ? Less that 10**2 years . . . ?
I think it is a wee bit too early in our relationship to be making any long term commitments to the universe.
Maybe Dark Matter and Dark Energy will suddenly start becoming more Dark. That would majorly foobar these physicists' predictions.
Maybe the upcoming Webb space telescope will surprisingly spot evidence of the existence of Clear Energy and Clear Matter . . . which we won't be able to see either.
My prediction is that in less than 10**1 years . . . the physics equations will need to be dramatically modified again.
Don't kid yourselves, the baddest motherfuckers in the world of computers are employed by governments.
. . . when "The Pros" hack into a system . . . they don't tell anyone about it.
. . . when "The Schmoes" hack into a system . . .they brag about it on Facebook.
One of the oldest rules in the book is that you never let your enemy know that you have compromised them. That way, they will continue to expose valuable information that you can exploit.
If you leave behind an email stating, "You've been hacked!" . . . that's game over for that exploit.
There used to be an ancient joke that "spooky folks" would pass around, that went something like:
"Did you hear the story of the greatest spy coup of all time . . . ?"
"No . . . you didn't . . . and you never will."
Yeah okay, but if their foot was in the crosswalk it doesn't matter if you were one foot or 20.
The Cruise car was clearly labeled with a bumper sticker stating:
"We brake for nobody!"
That does not add up. How many voters do you have in the US? How many are coal miners or in any way related to the coal industry?
In the US . . . it's all coal miners . . . all the way down.
What is the use of these numbers?
I'm guessing that some folks who thought they could get rich easy with a Fart App have thrown in the towel.
More useful would be some statistics on how many highly popular app there are . . . and how many obvious duds.
Of course, any statistics are useless when you really need an app for something . . . but can't find it.
Well, my solution to that is to write it myself. It's really not that difficult. I've written apps for both iOS and Android, and it takes some learning time, but I find that it is fun.
And I call baloney on the ability to identify non-verbalized words.
Well . . . that's what you say . . . but what are you really thinking . . .?
Let's just strap our Interrogation Assistant onto your head to find out . . .
Just give Facebook a big middle finger.
Oh, we all know Facebook . . . if you give them a big middle finger, they will sell it.
I'd like a Congress Critter to ask Zuckerberg during his testimony,
"Mr. Zuckerberg, would you sell private data from your own grandmother . . . "
Another alternative is to opt out of Facebook
. . .not really . . . as long as Kevin Bacon is still using Facebook, they are merely six degrees away from you.
For folks who signed up and use Facebook, well, they gave their data away.
But for folks who won't touch Facebook with your dick, but Facebook collects data on them anyway, because they are "real friends" with a Facebook user . . . that is quite nasty.
If your name and telephone number is on the phone of a WhatsApp user . . . they've got you.
How convenient, just in the nick of time to grab more money!
Trump announces a new set of tariffs . . . against . . .
SPACE!
One million billion dollars of them!
. . . so I was just wondering . . . where does all of that money that China is now paying go . . . ?
iZombie or The Walking Dead brain heist?
Canada said:
Oh, take off, eh!"
. . . and folks packed their bags wherever they were, and took the next flight to Canada!
Unfortunately, the Brexit campaign was abused by xenophobic folks in the UK to stoke up "foreigners are evil!" elements there. And it worked. Some foreign IT folks that I work with in the UK have told me that they feel like they have hunting targets pinned on their clothes when they go out shopping.
Xenophobia is the new wave in Europe, but the French nipped the racist "National Front" in the bud with the election of Macron. In Germany, the racist AfD got into parliament, but their political influence has been dampened.
In the UK . . . well, a majority voted for Brexit . . . how many did so on anti-foreigner sentiments . . . nobody will talk about.
But, if you are a true believer in democracy . . . it should be right of UK voters to decide to kick out foreigners . . . correct . . . ?
! If you know Jenny, click "Like" to send her your best wishes.
If she gets enough "Likes" . . . she will receive proper treatment . . . otherwise, the nurses have plastic bags that fit over heads . . .
Damn kids, get back on my lawn so I can kick you off
There's no need to kick them off . . . just leave an extra sharpened set of Lawn Darts laying around on your lawn.
The problem will take care of itself.
That said, on my last business trip to the US, just north of Round Rock, Texas . . . I was surprised that no children were outside playing when I visited some colleagues at home. They all told me to be careful driving at dusk, because there would be deer in the road.
Where I grew up, in scenic New Jersey, at dusk there would be kids in the road.
While driving, if I see a ball run into the road, I brake, because I expect to see some kids run into the street chasing it.
While driving in the Third World, if I see a chicken run into the road, I brake, because I expect to see some kids run into the street chasing it.
Folks in the Third World love their chickens, but they love their children even more.
But why don't children seem to go out of the house, to find some trouble to get themselves into . . . ?
That's the way that they could learn . . .
A patent troll saying they'll help you with patents? This is rich, even for Microsoft.
*Shrug* . . . it's basically the same deal if you work for a large enough company that has a patent department.
It's your idea . . . your name is on the patent . . . but then it says, "Assigned To: [your employer]" in the title information.
In my case, I received some cash awards for the patents . . . but who knows what they are really worth to my employer.
The shhoter was a whack job, but had YouTube not "demonetized" her content,
YouTube decided that her content was worthless . . . why should they continue to give her any more money for it? She could have taken her content to anyone who thought that it was worth any money.
she would have probably lived out her life in well deserved obscurity.
I doubt it. She was a ticking time bomb, and if it wasn't YouTube, something else later would have set her off.
She needed serious mental health care. But mental heath still has this heavy stigma in the US . . . pumping your children full with Ritalin is OK . . . committing your daughter to a mental health institution is not socially acceptable.
Calling the cops is no answer . . . they are not able to legally do anything, and are not trained mental health professionals.
Ideally, this woman would have been evaluated as to her threat to herself and others, and would have received treatment.
People started treating YouTube like their job,
This sounds like extreme stalking to me . . . where folks in disillusion convince themselves that they are the "true love" of some Hollywood celebrity.
The YouTube film producers are no different from other artists . . . you create a painting . . . hang it in a gallery . . . and then someone buys it . . . or they don't.
and I think there is actually a good argument that they should get some employment rights and protections.
Did YouTube ever insinuate that they would have a job for life with YouTube? No, they are just like any other contractors . . . you make big bucks when you are needed . . . but have no long term commitments.
The gig economy was largely about screwing works out of job security and benefits, and it has taken the law time to catch up and give people like Uber drivers some of the rights they deserve as effective employees.
A lot of folks like doing contract work . . . if you are young and single, and understand the risks and can financially plan for them . . . it can be a great deal.
If you are married, with two kids to feed and a house to finance . . . well, maybe a steady job is better for you.
But at any rate, contributors to YouTube who think that they have a lifetime employment commitment at YouTube are idiots.
Does Google sell it outright?
The German postal service, Deutsche Post, was just caught selling data to political parties, which was used in election campaign targeting.
Deutsche Post responded with the claim that they were not selling the data . . . merely "renting it out" . . .
Mega giga lame.
Hello software programmers; its called regression testing.
Have you ever heard the expression:
"The world is my oyster!"
Facebook says:
"The world is my regression test!"
If I'm a C-level executive and play fast/loose with the law, I can steal millions of dollars; from hundreds or thousands of people -- and unless I embarrass the establishment (like Madoff), I might get probation, or a few years of parole/supervised release.
Don't aim your sights too low! If you do it right . . . you will get a government bailout!
The C-Level folks at CenturyLink have already stashed their cash in the Cayman Islands. And they have their bags packed, in case any Feds do eventually come looking for them.
The trick about running a scam, is to know when to cut loose and bail out. That was Madoff's mistake . . . he got too greedy, and stayed around too long.
And humans have to sleep
Yes, supersonic flights would turn the "Mile High Club" into a "Quickie Club".
UNESCO would be appalled at the loss of this "World Heritage" of the "Mile High Club".